Family Day 2016: A wonderful day!29 July 2016Nell Bank in Ilkley was, in the words of the children “an awesome venue”, where they hunted for bears in the woods, built their own dens and fished for thrilling water creatures in the ponds. All the children and the teenagers took part in the supervised activities and at lunchtime they continued to engage with each other, making new friends and just enjoying being together. It was fantastic to see everyone moving around and chatting to people they hadn’t met before. We were very lucky to have a number of health care professionals at the event who presented to parents; Janet McDonagh spoke on Transition – making the move from paediatric to adult care, Vanessa Van Rooyen talked in general about JIA and for the first time a young man called Jordy, shared his story on living with JIA. Jordy was inspirational and despite his JIA which has meant he has had to make some significant life changes he has got on with it and everyone at the event was moved by his achievements. Jazmine who has also had JIA since she was 2 years and is now in her 20s shared her story too, she is doing a PHD and has travelled the world; again despite her JIA and she was a shining example for parents who worry for their children’s futures. And so based on the incredible day we had on Saturday July 23rd, I hope to repeat this in 2017 at Nell Bank Ilkley and at a similar venue in the South of England. Photos